Lao Lao

By the time we had exited and entered, handing over fistfuls of USD, we weren't in any mood to get on a bus north for another few hours, so Vientiane became our home for a few days. It proved to be a very relaxing capital to visit, with my introduction to Laos being just as Lisa had suggested - they're happy, honest, very polite and always smiling. A fancy meal in a French restaurant (Laos had been under the French) and a couple of bike rides along the Mekong, and we headed north to Vang Vieng, staying at a guesthouse on the far side of the river. We had to pay the 20c toll every time we crossed the bridge, though it was a nice bridge! Lisa remembered there being no bridge but tractors towing groups across last time round (I heard a lot about the last time round, but I'll bore her back in China).

The ubiquitous backpacker activity in this town is to hire a tire tube and float down the river, stopping at bars selling $1 beers and baguettes, with ropes to swing off into the river. Safety plus! It was quite spectacular spending the afternoon using my thongs as paddles, floating amongst dramatic limestone cliffs and more rice paddies. By this stage, we had befriended a couple, Matthew and Milja (Welsh/Finnish) who kept us company sharing meals, taxis and beers. They took their camera down the river but we forgot to copy the photos, so our photos start after they got moving (on a 48hr bus ride to Vietnam!) Here's what I did record:

Every morning, a group of kids would play/bathe in the creek in front of our bungalow. Lisa decided to join them which only increased the splashing and laughter.

More rice paddies and limestone cliffs. To the south of our bungalow was a series of caves, cliffs and creeks. We rode out to a spot dubbed the 'Blue Lagoon' and swam the afternoon away. Caving itself was a little dicey, I got more grip barefoot, so we didn't venture too deep. Notice also my efforts to keep the sun off me as the malaria tablets I'm enjoying make the skin extra sun sensitive. Lisa gets her scarf back when we re-enter public areas and I eventually bought a new hat to replace the one I'd annoyingly left on a bus in Thailand.

Floating backwards down the Blue Lagoon. (It's much bluer when the sun is out). After a week of lazing about Vang Vieng, it was time. So we boarded a bus whose driver seemed to be running late for a very important meeting and wound our way up into the mountains towards Luang Prabang, a bit of a bakery Mecca - one very positive reminder of the French.

Late one night, I talked Lisa into hiring mountain bikes with me. Not an easy feat. We headed out of town in the morning, being passed by luxurious tour buses, towards one of the many pay-per-view waterfall sites in the area.

Having rained a little, the falls were very much churned up, making a hell of a racket.

Here, in an attempt to smile as instructed, you might see a little hut behind me. Young Lao lovers shared picnics where they would have no chance clearly exchanging pleasantries, or keeping their baguettes dry.

Back in town, Lisa stopped at one of our favourite money-spending opportunities. This bloke made nothing but caramelised bananas wrapped in fresh crepes with a drizzle of condensed milk, all done with plenty of pizazz - for about 60c a pop.

More online escapism, I'll spare you the jokes about the

others searching for Nirvana.

We got up to see the Monks silently collect their food for the day. Each has a silver pot into which peolple put food! Long lines of Monks from different Monastaries walked passed us for the first hour of light as we sat in wonder at their lifetyle.

The view from Wat Pa Huak at the centre of Luang Prabang. As we wandered about the grounds, Novice Monks were working in teams to clean different shrines. The Monastery scene increasingly reminds me of a boys school camp.

We headed north and stopped in Nong Khiaw, a quiet town on the Mekong River. We stayed right on the water for about $3 a night. Here is what you get for your cash:

Private bathroom: Bath on the left, multi-purpose drain in the middle and a

handy blue bucket on the right.

Chickens everywhere, and roosters who wanted people awake all day.

This was down the street from our 'resort', dogs mysteriously left the chickens alone, though not each other.

Pet monkeys were a local favourite.

Lisa loved watching little boys poke them through the cage doors.

This advertisement caught my eye, so I applied. I prepared a three part lesson about the menu, reception and showing off rooms. My class of five adults listened attentively though I'm not sure how much they absorbed. I left them my notes which I was glad to see them refer to when we returned later for dinner. It was a very nice place if ever you're up there and can afford the US$22 tariff.

Corn was left to dry on the bridge outside our bungalow every day,

the colour was quite intense against the concrete.

Out walking along the Mekong. The glare on the photo might give some idea about how hot it was. We made our way up the hill to a creek where the water was less 'brown' to bathe and local washer women were, well, washing.

Like the monkeys, little boys loved to taunt the water buffalo,

animals whose horns and volume worried me.

Here we sat, waiting for our bus at the Nong Khiaw Bakery, our eatery of choice. The fog in the background rose every morning for another hot day. We arrived in Udomxai that night and chose not t0 stand on another crowded, dusty, bus with wheels nuts missing to Luang Nam Tha, which was lucky as we wouldn't have met Wanda and Jonas, a Bavarian couple who we chatted with on the bus over the border the next morning into China...